a grasshopper kinda day

...and it's not even noon!

when i went outside this morning

i noticed TWO Hibiscus flowers blooming right next to each other.

so i ran back inside to grab my camera.

immediately after i took the picture...

a tiny grasshopper climbed onto one of the flowers.

he obviously wanted his picture taken. 

he posed...and i snapped away...

then i spotted another...on one of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea leaves.

THEN...since it was still kinda early...not TOO hot out yet...

we decided to take the four-wheeler across the street...

to the field...to pick more wild blackberries.

wow! they're everywhere!

it was worth the effort...reaching into the thorny bushes...

we picked over a pound!

while picking...we spotted this big grasshopper...

it's called an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper!

to finish out this

=grasshopper kinda day=

here's a picture i took last year, after a torrential rain.

all the tiny grasshoppers taking refuge from the rain...

on the leaves of a potted Begonia!

have a good week...

and a safe journey....enjoy the ride!

:] laura

"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness."

~John Muir

r o u n d...things

whenever i'm wandering around...
especially outside...
i  notice all kinds of things.
i'm so much more observant of all the little things...
in nature...
than what kind of car someone owns...
or what the latest fad...or fashion is...
or who's marrying who...divorcing...cheating!

sometimes i get these bright ideas...weird ideas...
to do something a little different.

like...back in november, i did a post including shadows...

friday - shadows, wing art...and oh yeah, a snake 

...because shadows have always intrigued me. they inspire me. 

soothe me and...sometimes...frighten me. all at the same time. 

they're mysterious. other worldly. 

then, a couple of months ago, in february, i did a post...
yard textures...mostly
...because i just can't help myself...i like to touch! everything!
(well, not everything...)

from bricks to mushrooms...there are so many varied textures in nature.

oOo
for a while now, i've been looking for ROUND things in nature.

these photos are just a fraction of what i've collected.

i hope all the ROUND 'n ROUND doesn't make your head spin.

BUT if you start feeling a  little dizzy...sit down.
take a deep breath. maybe put your head between your knees.
it'll pass.

enjoy.

ROUND...

like a hole in the tree...

like part of a paper wasp's  nest...

like a mushroom...

Caterpillar:   “…and the other side will make you grow shorter.”

Alice:   “The other side of what?”

Caterpillar:   “The mushroom, of course!”

~Alice in Wonderland

ROUND...

like the swirly cinnamon fern before it opens & spreads it's leaves...

like the tiny honey comb holes...

like the thick vine wrapping around a tree branch...

like weathered wood...

like the sun...

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."

Bern Williams

ROUND...

like the eye socket of a deer skull...

like the hole in a spider web...

like drops of water on a leaf...

like a sand dollar...

like an ant mound...

like the small vines wrapping around trees and bushes...

like...SPLAT!  bird poop on a leaf...

like...uh...what the heck is this anyway?

some kind of growth on a tree branch...

like the owl's eyes...

“I think everyone will remember the first time they saw an owl.”

~Kim Kuska

ROUND...

like the lotus flower pods...

like all the woodpecker holes...in the dead and dying trees...

like the casing that was shed by some morphing insect...

like some ocean coral...

and...round...like the moon.

Why ROUND?

why not square?  or rectangular?

hmmmm...i don't know.

maybe - subconsciously - i think...

round...circular...never ending...eternal.

the cycle of life...birth...death...continuous...infinity.

∞

the circle of life.

stay cool.

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:] laura

"All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking."   

~Friedrich Nietzsche

PS - see that page up there under the header?

'misspelled signs' i've come across.

if YOU have a picture of a sign...deserving to be on this page...

go ahead,  email  it to me...say where the picture was taken (what state? country?)

and i'll ADD it to the page with a link to your blog (unless you tell me not to!) 

OR just your name!

alligators.wild horses.turtles.and the moon.

one morning...last week...early...

we went for a walk.

a short hike...at a park not far from here. La Chua Trail. Paynes Prairie.

it's only about a three mile hike altogether.

we've been to this park many times...nothing ever remains the same.

the water goes up...the water goes down...

the gators get bigger & BIGGER...and new ones are born.

the last time we walked this trail, was back in october.
the gators were a little sparse.  i did a post on that day's hike also.
you can check it out here if you WANT more GATOR: "el lagarto".

THIS day though...there were  SO many alligators!

probably because the weather's warming up and the water was higher...

the first part of the trail is along an elevated boardwalk.

you're looking down into the 'sink hole'. Alachua Sink.

"Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek."

~Dan Rather

after about a half  mile, the boardwalk comes to an end 

and you're walking a dirt trail which runs along the edge 

of one of the Sink's tributaries.

these babies are about 2 weeks old. 

the ranger said they were born about a month earlier than normal.

their mother was right there...not 3 feet away...

watching...protecting.

(approx 8 - 12 inches long)

part of the Sink...where the water doesn't flow...is covered with algae.

and so is everything else that comes out of there...

turtles and gators...living in harmony...

for now.

a Snowy Egret...patiently waiting for a fish to swim by.

and one did! he speared it with his beak!

a gator...resting...at the water's edge.

this one's debatable. hmmmm. right on the cusp...

teenager? adult?

but definitely not a baby anymore!

(they reach breeding maturity at 8 - 13 years, or  6 - 7 feet long)

this one's a toddler.

the banded tail means it's still fairly young...

(overall - approx 2 feet long)

they say you can estimate how BIG a gator is by the size of it's head.

measuring from the tip of the nose to the eyes...

if the head looks to be 12 inches long, then the gator is probably 12 feet!

ONE inch = ONE foot.

some of the gators we saw looked to be at least 15 feet long!

this same park also has Wild Horses and Bison.

a few weeks ago while hiking a different trail, 

we were lucky enough to have the horses stop on the trail ahead of us!

we just had to sit tight...and wait for them to cross the trail.

they  say not to get too close...the Alpha male is very protective!

we've never seen any of the Bison there. 

we've talked with other people along the trail, 

 who HAVE seen them...but they didn't see the horses...

so i guess it just all depends on your timing...luck.

we DID see EVIDENCE of the Bison though...ALL ALONG the trail...

watch your step!

(yes! this picture will be reappearing 

in my future post titled "one crappy post")

across the park...and back to the gators...

a Great Blue Heron...

and a flying turtle...

Weeeeeeee!!

and so...the trail comes to an end...

see ya later alligator. in a while crocodile.

(all about the American Alligator: click here)

back home...the day comes to an end...

looking through the trees out front...the setting sun...

and then the moon...looking out back...almost clearing the trees.

spooky...

and then rising above the trees...

what a nice way to end the day...

a full moon. the Super Moon...

the closest the moon has been to the earth in 18 years.

oOo

BUT, before i sign off...there's something i have to mention.

Blogger Awards.

i've talked about this before. 

of course, we all like to be recognized...we want to know that people 

actually READ what we write...and enjoy what they see.

BUT...how can i possibly pass on an award...to only a few?

how can i PICK other bloggers out of those i follow?

i'm sorry - but i can't.

i am truly humbled...and honored.....that someone thought me worthy of an award.

everyone deserves an award. everyone deserves recognition.

(LOOK at my sidebar...the other blogs i follow! they ALL deserve a READ!)

so please know...with deepest gratitude...i very much appreciate the thought...

your acknowledgement of me.  :]

PLEASE...visit Keda at Journey Keeper

AND Susan at KardKornerKrib !!

(you'll be glad you did)

thank you  :)  

they are worthy of the awards they received...

oOo

anyway, enough said 'bout that!

thanks for wandering. stay cool.

have a safe journey...enjoy the ride!

:] laura

"What lies behind us and what lies before us 

are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

~Walt Emerson